Gates and operating mechanism therefor

ABSTRACT

This invention relates to a gate with a two-way opening action about opposed sides. Opposed hooks for releasably holding side members of the gate in supports at the gate opening are fixed to shafts which are rotatable by an operating lever via a linkage. Movement of the lever in one direction releases one hook and further engages the opposed hook about its associated side member for opening the gate about this side member and vice versa. In one embodiment the movement of the lever is confined by cooperation with the edges of a shaped cam.

United States Patent Funnell [451 Sept. 10, 1974 GATES AND OPERATING MECHANISM THEREFOR Inventor: Peter Gilbert Rutland Funnell, 23

Pownale St., Masterton, New Zealand Filed: June 11, 1973 Appl. No.: 368,881

US. Cl 49/193, 16/147, 49/382 Int. Cl E05d 15/50 Field of Search 49/193, 382; 16/147;

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Cibulas 49/193 Suckfield 49/193 X Ball 49/193 X Timmons et a1. 49/193 Primary ExaminerKenneth Downey Attorney, Agent, or FirmDawson, Tilton, Fallon & Lungmus [5 7] ABSTRACT This invention relates to a gate with a two-way opening action about opposed sides.

Opposed hooks for releasably holding side members of the gate in supports at the gate opening are fixed to shafts which are rotatable by an operating lever via a linkage. Movement of the lever in one direction releases one hook and further engages the opposed hook about its associated side member for opening the gate about this side member and vice versa.

In one embodiment the movement of the lever is confined by co-operation with the edges of a shaped cam.

8 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures GATES AND OPERATING MECHANISM THEREFOR The present invention relates to gates or like closure means and in particular to gates that can be opened about two opposite sides with a single lever, such as required in drafting stock.

One object of the present invention is to provide a convenient form of gate or closure means with a gate operating mechanism providing such a two-way action.

According to one aspect of the present invention a gate or like closure means includes means for receiving and supporting the gate or closure means for pivotal movement about one or other opposed side thereof; holding means releasably engageable with said opposed sides of the gate; a gate operating mechanism associated with said holding means and operable to release the holding means at one or other opposed side of the gate as required to enable pivoting of the gate on said receiving and supporting means about the side of the gate which remains held.

Such a gate may be incorporated in a stock crate, pen, run or the like, whereby drafting from the crate, pen or run may be effected into two directions or holding paddocks or pens for example.

According to another aspect of the present invention a stock crate comprises walls and a floor, and gate or like closure means for said crate, said gate or closure means including means for receiving and supporting the gate for pivotal movement about one or other opposed side thereof, holding means releasably engageable with said opposed sides of the gate; a gate operating mechanism assocated with said holding means and operable to release the holding means at one or other side of the gate, as required, to enable pivoting of the gate on said receiving or supporting means about the side of the gate which remains held.

In order that the invention may be more readily understood two forms of gate according to the present invention are described below by way of example only and in conjunction with the following drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a top plan view of a preferred form of the gate according to the present invention when fully closed;

FIG. 2 shows an enlarged view of the portion YY of the gate shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 shows a top plan view of the gate shown in FIG. 1 in the open position;

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of a stock crate incorporating a gate according to the present invention and as shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a top plan view of a further form of gate according to the present invention.

FIG. 1 shows a preferred form of gate 1 according to the present invention which can be opened in two directions depending upon the direction of movement of a lever 2. The gate 1 is mounted in the arrangement shown as a closure to a stock crate 20, however it will be appreciated that the gate may be mounted as a closure to a pen, run or the like.

The crate 20, has two opposed upright side wall members 3, 4, to which are attached support members 5, 6 respectively at the one end of the crate to which the gate 1 is mounted. Two support members 5 are mounted one above the other on one side of the crate 20 and two support members 6 one above the other on the other side of the crate. The support members 5, 6 are each fonned with recesses 7, 8 therein respectively, facing towards the gate 1 and into which upright side members 1a, 119 respectively of the gate 1 are received and supported. Provision is made for retaining the side members 10, 1b of the gate 1 is recesses 7, 8 by holding means in the form of hook members 9, 10 respectively.

The lever 2 has one end pivotally attached to the gate 1 at 11, suitably substantially midway of the top crossbar or top portion 1c of the gate 1 and is shown in FIG. 1 extending in its neutral fore and aft position, where the gate 1 is closed with both its upright side members 1a, 1b held firmly at the top and bottom portions thereof by the hook members 9, 10, respectively.

Lever 2 is guided between two spaced guide members 29 held together by rollers, pins or the like 28 substantially midway of a rigid link member 12, the upper guide member 29 forming an integral part of the link member 12. The link member 12 is of a substantially V-shape with the upper guide member 29 forming the base of the V and the diverging sides of the V having their free ends pivotally attached to further link members 13, 14 respectively. The other ends of each link member 13, 14 are rigidly fixed to shafts or axles 15, 16 respectively which are themselves rotatably mounted in the pairs of support members 5, 5, and 6, 6, respectively.

The pair of hook members 9 is rigidly mounted on the shaft or axle 15 each preferably in juxtaposition with one of the support members 5. The pair of hook members 10 is similarly mounted on shaft or axle 16 likewise in juxtaposition with the support members 6, whereby pivoting of the link members 13, 14 effects pivoting of the hook members 9, 10 respectively with shafts 15, 16.

Fixed to the top of the crate or pen 20 is a cam member 16 having two opposed edge surfaces 17, 18 converging towards one another in a direction towards the gate 1, an intermediate curved edge 19 extending therebetween. A roller member 21 is provided at the end portion of the lever 2 remote from end 11 and may be moved around the cam member 16 in contact with the edges 17, l8, 19. The cam member 16 is intended to guide the movement of roller 21 and to prevent its movement within the-area of the cam member 16 and thus prevent movement of link 12 to unhinge the gate 1. A flange or collar 23 is provided beneath the roller 21 to move beneath the cam 16 for locating the roller 21. The gate 1 is shown in FIG. 1 in the closed position and an operator will be positioned where he may reach the end of the lever 2 with ease to open the gate, such as at the side of the crate 20, a handle 22 being attached to the lever 2 at this end portion and preferably being positioned at the maximum practical distance from pivot 11 for greatest mechanical advantage.

In operating the gate, movement of the roller 21 and hence of the lever 2 is effected in one direction indicated by arrow A along curved edge 19 of the cam member 16, thus applying pressure to one stop or roller 28 and pulling the link member 12 and lever 2 in direction B which draws the link members 13, 14 therewith and pivots them in the directions C. D respectively. This rotates axle l5 and 16 in the same direction and the hook members 9 are thus pivoted in direction C to draw them out of engagement from around the upright side member 1a of the gate 1 as shown in FIG. 3, and at the same time rotates hook members 10 into further engagement around member lb to hold member 1b and prevent its withdrawal from the recesses 8 in the supporting members 6. When the roller 21 has reached the corner of the cam member 16, the side member la of the gate 1 is free from hook members 9, and roller 21 then moves along the edge 18 of the cam member 16 in direction E to hinge or pivot open the gate 1 in direction F about the pivotsformed by engagemet of the upright side 1b of the gate 1 in the recesses 8.

The return movement of the lever 2 along edge 17 in the opposite direction to that indicated by arrow IE, will serve to close the gate 1 about the held side, and pivot the hook members 9, 10 back to the positions shown in FIG. 1, where they hold bothupright side-members 1a, lb of the gate 1 the gate now being closed and the operating lever 2 lying in its original fore and aft position.

Pivotal opening movement of the gate 1 in the direction of arrow G is effected by operation of the lever member 2 to cause the roller 21 to move in the direction of arrow H, whereby the upright side member 1b at the other side of the gate 1 is released from hook members 10. Movement of the roller 23 in the direction of arrow I along the straight edge 18 of the cam 16 hinges or pivots out the gate 1 about the pivots formed on the supporting members 5. It is preferable that suitable locating means such as flanges 30, be provided on the members la, 1b of the gate to align beneath the members and 6 when members 1a and 1b are located within recesses 7 and 8 therein.

In a further arrangement envisaged and shown in FIG. 5, (in which the ports are indicated by the same numerals) the lever 2 is not connected to the gate 1 but is pivoted to a link member 33, which is itself fixed partway along its length to the axle or shaft 16, which is pivotally mounted in support member 6, the other end of link member 33 extending beyond the support members 6 and gate 1 and having pivotally attached thereto a further link member 34 which extends substantially parallel to the gate 1 in its closed position. The other end of this latter-mentioned member 34 is pivotally mounted to a shorter link member 35 fixed to the axle or shaft 15 mounted in the other support members 5 at the other side of the gate 1. A further link member 36 pivoted preferably substantially midway of the gate at 11 and preferably to the top crossbar thereof, for ease of access by the operator, has its other end pivotally joined at 31 to a position on the lever 2 somewhere between the two ends thereof. The other members of the gate operating apparatus are similar to that described in the previous embodiment.

When the lever member 2 is pulled in the direction A, this pivots the link member 33 which in turn pivots the axle or shaft 16 mounted in support members 6 and thus pivots the hook members 10 in the direction of arrow B to release their hold on the side member 1b of the gate 1. The other hook members 9 are further engaged on the opposite upright side member 1a of the gate 1 through action of the movement of the link member 34 in direction C caused by the tension applied thereto by link member 33. The lever 2 can now be pivoted in direction D to open the gate in direction G. However by pushing the lever in the direction H and then pivoting in directioh D the gate can be opened from the opposite side, in the direction F. Thus when the gate is mounted for drafting, the lever is pushed away from the operator so that one side of the gate is released and the gate will swing open on its one side and when the lever is pulled towards the operator the other side of the gate is released and will swing open in the opposite direction.

Such a system of drafting could be applied to use for the weighing mechanism whereby animals may be drafted from the mechanism into two separate runs or directions according to their weight as they come from the weighing mechanism As shown in FIG. 4, the gate closing mechanism of the invention is incorporated at one end of the stock crate 20, which is provided with a suitable closure means at the other end and indicated in the present arrangement by way of example only, as a pair of gates 40 actuated by a single lever 41 pivotally mounted to the top of the crate at 42 and which is itself connected to each gate 40 by a separate additional lever 43. Pivoting of the lever 41 in one direction opens both gates 40 simultaneously and pivoting of the lever 41 in the opposite direction closes the gates 40 and thus that end of the crate 20.

It will be appreciated that any form of gate may be provided at this other end of the stock crate 20 as is Thus the two-way gate according to the present invention provides labour-saving means for sorting and d-i recting animals into two directions by a convenient, simple and quick-acting mechanism. Furthermore with the mechanism incorporated in the stock crate as shown in the drawing, a convenient means is provided which will temporarily contain an animal for inspection or where the crate is incorporated in a weighing device to enable the weighing of the animal. After its inspection or weighing the animal may be released and drafted through the gate of the invention into an appropriate direction according to the result of the inspection or weighing.

It will be appreciated that various modifications and alterations of the particular arrangements described above and shown in the drawings are envisaged within the scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

For example the supporting members 5, 6 need not necessarily engage with uprights forming part of the gate but may be connected to separate members attached to the gates. It will also be appreciated that if desired the gate may be arranged to pivot about its top or bottom sides as may be required.

I claim:

1. A gate or like closure means which includes means for supporting the gate or closure means for pivotal movement about one or other opposed sides thereof; respective holding means for said opposed sides of the gate mounted pivotally on said supporting means, said holding means being connected to a system of pivoted lever means capable of selectively releasing one or other of said retention means for the pivotal movement of the respective side of the gate or closure means; one of said pivoted lever means being connected to the gate and at least one other of which is connected to the pivotal point of said holding means, said one lever means pivoted to the gate being provided with a co-operating means co-operable with the edge of the cam means, said cam means having a curved edge portion capable of guiding said co-operating means for the selective release of opposite sides of the gate, said cam means presenting respective straight edge portions at the end of its curved edge portion capable of permitting displacement of said one lever means in response to the pivotal movement of the gate upon release of one side of said gate, the arrangement being such that displacement of said lever means in one or other direction from a position in which said gate is locked will cause selective release of said retention means from the respective side of the gate and the return movement of the lever means to said locked position will effect locking of said retention means about the gate.

2. A device as claimed in claim 1 in which said cam member and the gate operating mechanism is positioned near the top of the gate.

3. A device as claimed in claim 1 in which a roller member is provided for movement along the edge of said cam member.

4. A device as claimed in claim 1 in which a handle is provided on the end of said lever remote from its pivotal connection with the gate for manual actuation by the operator.

5. A device as claimed in claim 1 in which the gate operating mechanism comprises a first lever member pivotally mounted to said gate, a link member movable by said first lever member and pivotally connected to a pair of further link members, each further link member being fixed to a separate shaft, each shaft being pivotally mounted to opposed sides of the gate opening, said holding means being fixed to said shafts, the arrangement being such that movement of said link member by said lever member in one direction is arranged to pivot said further link members in one direction and to rotate one holding means to release the associated side of the gate and to rotate the other holding means to further engage the other associated side of the gate.

6. A device as claimed in claim 1 in which the holding means comprise two sets of hook members, the openings in one set of hook members for engagement with one side of the gate facing the openings in the other set of hook members for the other side of the gate, whereby the pivoting of the hook members in one direction causes one set to release the associated side of the gate and the other set to further engage the associated side of the gate, pivoting of the hook members in the opposite direction effecting the reverse action.

7. A device as claimed in claim 1 in which the means for receiving and supporting the gate are attached to the sides of the opening to which the gate is mounted and are each provided with a recess facing towards the gate and into which the upright side members of the gate are received for pivotal or hinging movement therein.

8. A device as claimed in claim 1 in which the holding means for supporting the gate are mounted in juxtaposition with the associated holding means and near the top portion and bottom portion of the gate. 

1. A gate or like closure means which includes means for supporting the gate or closure means for pivotal movement about one or other opposed sides thereof; respective holding means for said opposed sides of the gate mounted pivotally on said supporting means, said holding means being connected to a system of pivoted lever means capable of selectively releasing one or other of said retention means for the pivotal movement of the respective side of the gate or closure means; one of said pivoted lever means being connected to the gate and at least one other of which is connected to the pivotal point of said holding means, said one lever means pivoted to the gate being provided with a co-operating means co-operable with the edge of the cam means, said cam means having a curved edge portion capable of guiding said co-operating means for the selective release of opposite sides of the gate, said cam means presenting respective straight edge portions at the end of its curved edge portion capable of permitting displacement of said one lever means in response to the pivotal movement of the gate upon release of one side of said gate, the arrangement being such that displacement of said lever means in one or other direction from a position in which said gate is locked will cause selective release of said retention means from the respective side of the gate and the return movement of the lever means to said locked position will effect locking of said retention means about the gate.
 2. A device as claimed in claim 1 in which said cam member and the gate operating mechanism is positioned near the top of the gate.
 3. A device as claimed in claim 1 in which a roller member is provided for movement along the edge of said cam member.
 4. A device as claimed in claim 1 in which a handle is provided on the end of said lever remote from its pivotal connection with the gate for manual actuation by the operator.
 5. A device as claimed in claim 1 in which the gate operating mechanism comprises a first lever member pivotally mounted to said gate, a link member movable by said first lever member and pivotAlly connected to a pair of further link members, each further link member being fixed to a separate shaft, each shaft being pivotally mounted to opposed sides of the gate opening, said holding means being fixed to said shafts, the arrangement being such that movement of said link member by said lever member in one direction is arranged to pivot said further link members in one direction and to rotate one holding means to release the associated side of the gate and to rotate the other holding means to further engage the other associated side of the gate.
 6. A device as claimed in claim 1 in which the holding means comprise two sets of hook members, the openings in one set of hook members for engagement with one side of the gate facing the openings in the other set of hook members for the other side of the gate, whereby the pivoting of the hook members in one direction causes one set to release the associated side of the gate and the other set to further engage the associated side of the gate, pivoting of the hook members in the opposite direction effecting the reverse action.
 7. A device as claimed in claim 1 in which the means for receiving and supporting the gate are attached to the sides of the opening to which the gate is mounted and are each provided with a recess facing towards the gate and into which the upright side members of the gate are received for pivotal or hinging movement therein.
 8. A device as claimed in claim 1 in which the holding means for supporting the gate are mounted in juxtaposition with the associated holding means and near the top portion and bottom portion of the gate. 